Watching Paint Dry

Okay, just a quick one here.....

I have finally, years after the idea, been able to rehabilitate the back room of my house.
I chose a beautiful shade of super-pale aqua called "Blue Whisper".
The room is a sunroom. There are windows on all sides (except North) - I won't go into the details, as they will bore to tears anyone who hasn't rehabbed a house.......
but, let's just say that rehabbing old houses has been one of my life's "hobbies."

So - yeah - my house is 77 years old - and this room was a sort of slap-dash construct add-on from 58.
the walls (exterior and interior) have now been replaced, a new window installed, fresh roof and fresh ceiling - fresh insulation, electrical outlets and lights, gutters......

and now..........
PAINT

So yeah, this paint is so lovely - depending on the light and the section of wall (which has 3 different textures) it is mesmerizing. I finally got it done just before noon today. I'm spending the afternoon going to check on it. Yesterday we watched it with sun streaming in....today I'm watching it with overcast skies. So far, I am delighted.

Do you guys know the feeling? Where just the color and the light are so intriguing. My house is an expression of my personality. I told Mr Wigs that yesterday - although it is genuinely painful (mentally) for him to part with the money, the delight of having actual, physical, real "estate" (get it?) quality is (to me) more significant.

Wall Street could crash tomorrow, but we will still have this house, this physical shelter and whatever joy and comfort it has to offer....bought it in 1999. It needed a tremendous amount of work. To have the entire main floor finally rehabbed is a wonderful feeling.

To watch the light playing off of the walls - all different textures and exposures is awesomely enjoyable.

I highly recommend taking the time to watch paint dry.
Live a little.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

im currious about the north window thing

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Good on you, Buzzy. I enjoyed reading that.

a reply to: Snarl

Thanks!

I just reread it myself - and it occurs to me that I said "the whole ground floor" - when actually the physical FLOOR is still do be done. Trickle-down remodeling. You know.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

How about a picture?

When I painted my house I made a point of studying Victorian color principle in selecting the appropriate colors for each room based on their location and amount of sun. It made for some very strike colors, deep red, purple, cobalt blue, etc.

a reply to: DOCHOLIDAZE1

The room was added on to the south side of the house. It has east, south, and west windows, but the north wall is attached to the house. Two doorways - one into the great room, and the other into the kitchen area.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

oh so the north side is on the inside?

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Congrats on having that good experience!

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I'll try. I have taken several pics of the process, and will do so now again...as soon as it's dry. Still spot checking for places I missed. It took exactly precisely one gallon (including "waste" - the stuff that winds up on the floor (no need to protect it this time - yay!!), tools, gets washed out of brushes, decorates my Chuck Taylors and jammie pants, adds temporary tattoos and highlights to my hair, etc.....

one gallon. Period.
Valspar's best quality. (Ten dollar rebate coming, even!)



Only thing is last time I tried my phone failed to complete sending them to my computer. I might have to figure out how to sync it to my puter.
That's tech stuff that I would normally not bother with, but if I need to, I will.
It was so funny on Saturday I was listening to Ted Radio Hour podcast while I was painting....and all the ads are so high-tech jargonny shop-talk - far more technical than the ads you'd hear on the radio.... yet I understood every one of them!

anyway - I'm rambling. So yeah, I'll do my best. No guarantees.

a reply to: DOCHOLIDAZE1

Yes. That's it. The light in this house, though, is lovely. When all the doors separating the rooms are open, there is daylight (or moonlight) 24/7. It was built before central air and all that....
so it is situated in a way to take maximum advantage of natural (passive) sunlight, seasonally appropriate exposure, very good ventilation, an attic fan, and planted with trees that are now mature.

Shady in the summer, and max sunshine in the winter.

I really do love this little house. That I'm finally getting to realize the fixed-upped of a "fixer-upper" is fabuloso. Bucket list stuff.
It ain't much, but it's mine.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I know exactly what you mean.
I studied period architecture, interior designs, etc.

I have several books on rehabbing old houses, how to do masonry, etc. Love watching This Old House, and now discovered a thing called "Rehab Addict" - this woman (pretty blonde handygirl) (but no, not me) does videos and shows (HGTV) about the same sort of thing....

using salvaged and reclaimed timber, windows, doors, masonry, etc......

Modern beige suburban houses bore me to tears - and they are slapped together in a weekend!

anyway - back to color schemes: My front room (has only an east bay window and a north picture window) is painted in earthy colors that I got off of the Biltmore pallet about 10 years ago. Deep maroon, a dark clay, a pale sand, and squash-like yellow.

I'll post pics if I can.

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs
Do you guys know the feeling?

I absolutely know the feeling! My living room is three different colors and the kitchen is "Copper Penny" The light coming in the window, whether sunny or cloudy gives me the best feeling! I love paint! Oh! Here's Pictures!

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Yay!! My kitchen is white and a rich 'metallic hint' dark aqua and copper....fixtures are copper.....
have a display of copper, brass, pewter vessels of various use.

Thanks for sharing!

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Hope you have a chop saw, I see a lot of trim work in your future.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Actually I have a Silvio - Cuban guy....stole an army boat to defect to here some decades ago.
He's amazing. He's one of my best allies, friends, and posse staff. Truly talented, good guy.

I told him I was done painting

(not like, "I quit" but just...finished) and he said "about time! U go girl!" We've been working on this stuff nonstop since last August....and before that he did a rebuild on our bathroom (the tile actually caved in on the north wall, which was an "urgent care" situation.
I hate always having to wait until "urgent care" is required! I hate having to stress out our household begging for money to do it, too!!! I hate that!!
Anyway, Mr Wigs has been known to get glad in the same pants he got mad in....so - whew. Weathered another life crisis.)

Home-ownership often feels like boat ownership.....
boats are nothing but a hole in the water that you pour money into (lordy I miss my dad and our sailboat!) and houses are, well....money-pits. Especially the older ones. They were built to last.

Those guys weren't messing around.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Blue Whisper is a perfect name! Very pretty!

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

I'm so animated and excited I feel like a little kid on my birthday ----

Silvio just came over to see it (he lives just four doors down)....
he walked in and his jaw dropped open and he said,
"Oh my God! I am in love with this room!!! This is so beautiful, this is like "Cuba" colors!!"

And I said,

'yeah, you said they're called Florida rooms now, right?? - but man, this is a Cuba room!'

And we high-fived and did the hood handshake and had a couple of hugs and then all sat down and had a beer....
he just texted me again and said next time he'll bring over the Mamajuana....

(he is a very skilled chef and bartender and carpenter/rehabber guy)......

you ever had "Mamajuana"? Holy moly that stuff will knock you out. He was also talking about Mojitos.....from scratch. Half a lime, fresh mint leaves, rum.......

etc.

Hey guys, so - Silvio said we should paint that one brown pine-paneled wall also. We were thinking it would give it more of a defined "officy" feel to leave it the varnished pine tongue-in-groove paneling. That stuff is old, and I don't think they even cut old-growth pine anymore.....

What do you guys think? Should I leave that one wall dark (that's where my desk will be)...or paint it???

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs
...you ever had "Mamajuana"? Holy moly that stuff will knock you out.

I had it in the DR where it was invented and you can but it either in powder form to reconstitute and already bottled. Tastes good, reminds me of some digestivos from Italy.